HARVEY, La. — The Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office is searching for a murder suspect who pepper sprayed a deputy and drove off in her marked car as he was being transported from the hospital to the correctional center Sunday.
Sheriff Joseph Lopinto says 51-year-old Leon Ruffin escaped Sunday while in the parking lot at Ochsner Westbank. The stolen deputy unit was found abandoned in Algiers around 9:30 p.m.
The sheriff's office is involved in the search along with the State Police, NOPD and FBI.
Ruffin had been in custody since last July for counts of second-degree murder, aggravated assault, a convicted felon with a firearm, and obstruction of justice.
"Today, he [Ruffin] had a medical role at the Correctional Center. He has been in the medical facility for some time from what I understand," Lopinto said during a press conference Sunday night. "In our opinion, he was probably faking some injuries that he had. But he supposedly had some type of seizure today. Our medical department ended up transporting him."
Ruffin was transported around noon and treated for the seizure. When he was released around 6:30 p.m., he escaped from the back of the police unit.
Lopinto says Ruffin "created some type of disturbance" when the deputy was driving around the back of the hospital. After creating the disturbance, Ruffin pepper sprayed the deputy and then charged at her before stealing the police unit.
The deputy fired three rounds at Ruffin. It is not known at this time if he was shot.
"I really don't believe he has anything to lose again; he's in for second-degree murder for life in prison at this point in time. So, I definitely consider him armed and dangerous by all means. As I said, I don't believe he has a firearm. My deputy had her firearm still on him at this point. But he's certainly armed with pepper spray that he still has in his custody."
In a statement to WWL Louisiana, Mary Deynoodt, CEO of Ochsner Medical Center- West Bank Campus said:
The safety of our patients, team and visitors is of the upmost importance. We are grateful that none of our colleagues or patients were harmed during the altercation between an inmate and Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office deputy, which occurred in a parking lot outside of Ochsner Medical Center – West Bank on Sunday, February 25. Law enforcement continues to have our complete cooperation in their ongoing search and investigation into the incident. We are grateful to local law enforcement and our security team for their efforts to keep our campus, colleagues and those we care for safe.
We recognize how unsettling this event was for those who live and work nearby. We are communicating with and making resources available to any staff in need of assistance.
Why was Ruffin in jail?
Records show a grand jury indicted Ruffin for shooting and killing a man back in July. His charges include second-degree murder, being a convicted felon in possession of a weapon, aggravated assault with a firearm, and aggravated criminal damage to property.
Marlon Defillo of Crescent City Consulting has more than 40 years of experience in law enforcement and says this case has a number of questions.
“How he came into possession of a canister of pepper spray. Did someone supply him with a handcuff key? All of these things have to be answered, and I’m very confident that the sheriff’s office is in the midst of that investigation,” Defillo said.
Defillo says Ruffin’s violent charges should have required more caution and more deputies transporting ruffin.
“Looking at his violent past and history, he’s a convicted felon for other crimes, so you have to take all of these things into account and consideration on how many deputies you are going to use to transport that person away from a secure environment,” Defillo said.
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